


The Unsung Heroes

by Ekela



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Not all bystanders are headless chickens
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 11:03:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13188720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ekela/pseuds/Ekela
Summary: A series of one shots about bystanders, who never get mentioned in the stories, going above and beyond to save others. A tribute of sorts, to those who have stepped in to save someone, but also to humanity in general.





	The Unsung Heroes

**Author's Note:**

> I’m a huge fan of a whole heap of fantastic fantasy and/or action universes. However, I have one huge problem with them all. It seems that every time there is a battle, all of the non-characters in the universe just run around like headless chickens. I don’t believe that’s realistic. Look at the attack on the Lindt café in Sydney, the Pulse bar in Orlando or the many other attacks that have occurred. So many ordinary people stepped up and acted like heroes to help others. 
> 
> So I’m planning on doing a series of one shots about bystanders going above and beyond to save others. A tribute of sorts, to those who have stepped in to save someone, but also to humanity in general. 
> 
> I have a few in mind already but I’m open to suggestions. Be warned - most of my ideas have rather sad endings.

“Aunty Serena!” was the only warning Serena got before being ambushed by her two adorable, excitable nieces.  
  
“And hello to you two too.” Serena laughed, kneeling to cuddle with Ella and Tania.  
  
“Really, Amy,” she turned to look at her sister. “I expected much better behaviour from your daughters.”  
  
“Well, you can’t blame them for being excited to see their favourite aunt after she’s been away for a whole year.” Amy smiled, before stepping in for the next hug.  
  
It was an utter delight for Serena to see her sister and nieces again. They spent an hour in the outdoor café eating and giggling before the girls wandered off to the play area a few tables over. Then Amy got serious.  
  
“You should stay. The girls miss you terribly and so do I. So do Rick and Daniel.”  
  
Despite half expecting this attack, Serena found it hard to say the words of defence she had planned. Honestly, to bring up Dan, her ex, was a low blow. Serena had left for London last year after Dan broke up with her.  
  
“I miss you and Rick and the girls too. But I’ve got a lovely set up in London and the people I work with are fantastic.”  
  
“Serena,” Amy leaned forward, lowering her voice, “Dan was an idiot to let you go. A total idiot. But he loves you so much. Give him another chance.”  
  
Serena shook her head. “He had his chance. I’m not giving him another one.”  
  
“Yes, you are.” Amy smiled.  
  
“No! No way.”  
  
“Too bad. If you want to spend any more time with Ella and Tania, you’re going to sit through at least ten minutes with him.”  
  
Amy stood while Serena managed to somehow sit more firmly and stubbornly on her seat.  
  
“Serena.”  
  
She froze.  
  
A familiar figure settled into the seat Amy vacated.  
  
“Ten minutes,” Amy warned, “unless you want to ruin the day for my girls by making a scene and running off.”  
  
His hand reached tentatively across the table.  
  
A blue light washed over the tables and everyone looked up, Serena grateful for the reprieve.  
  
The sight was terrifying.  
  
A gaping hole was opening in the sky.  
  
Exclamations, cries of terror echoed.  
  
“What the hell is that?” Serena half-stood.  
  
Then they appeared.  
  
Like out of your B-rate alien horror movie, metallic looking things flew in, destruction in their wake.  
  
“Holy shit.” Dan whispered.  
  
The sound of explosions rocked New York City. A red dot blasting light – clearly the Iron Man, was battling with the aliens. Blue jets shot indiscriminately, devastating buildings, roads, people. Cars and bodies flew. Everyone screamed and scrambled for shelter inside the café.  
  
Serena looked out the window next to the waitress.  
  
The aliens continued to shoot wantonly but Serena could not tell if they were aiming for people or infrastructure – or if they simply wished to destroy everything. Smoke hazed the air from fires starting in nearby vehicles.  
  
Another hole – portal – opened.  
  
A monolithic creature, looking like a cross between a turtle and a whale slithered through.  
  
Then she saw the overturned school bus.  
  
Dan grabbed her as she moved towards the door.  
  
“What are you doing?”  
  
She pointed.  
  
“We can’t leave the kids there. That bus could catch fire.”  
  
She turned to Amy as she ran out, Dan by her side. “Stay here – keep the girls safe!”  
  
They ducked behind cars as they made their way to the bus. Serena stopped when she saw a couple huddled by their car.  
  
“Get under cover!”  
  
They looked at her without comprehension.  
  
She ducked down beside them as an alien flew past, shooting wildly.  
  
“Run into that café,” she pointed and pushed them. “NOW!” They went.  
  
Dan had reached the underside of the bus. He scrambled for hand and footholds to reach the window.  
  
“Give me a boost.”  
  
He turned as she started sprinting and knelt, resting his interlinked hands over his knee. She landed a foot neatly into his palms and he pushed her up. She grasped the side – now the roof of the bus, and hauled herself up. With her help, Dan climbed his way up beside her.  
  
The children clustered under her hopefully. The bus driver lay awkwardly on the window, tangled in the steering wheel. She shooed the kids towards the back of the bus and took off her jacket, planning to wrap it around her foot and slam through the glass.  
  
“Allow me,” Dan beat her to it, smashing a pipe from the underside of the bus through and kicking a larger hole. He jumped in and began to coax the kids towards him. As he lifted up the first child to her, she saw a group of aliens flying down the street towards her.  
  
“Get down!”  
  
She crouched to minimise herself as a target. The leader of the group had spotted her and began shooting. As the first shots went awry, the craft lowered and slowed. The others in the group flew past while the alien, intent on her, pointed a sceptre at her. She watched carefully. She would try to move as the shot was made to jump into the bus. No shot was made. The sceptre continued to point unerringly. The alien planned to impale her.  
  
Serena could work around that.  
  
She shifted aside from the point and grabbed the handle, then twisted to spin the alien craft with her as the pivot. The combined weight was more than she expected, almost pulling her off the bus. However, the alien had been surprised too and its grasp on the weapon had loosened. The sceptre stayed with her as the alien craft spun into a building.  
  
The sceptre was a rifle, with an axeblade like thing on the underside. It cut easily through the walls of the bus.  
  
“Move them away from the roof,” she directed Dan.  
  
She slid off the bus, using the slight curvature and dragging the blade through behind her. Then she cut a door in the roof, allowing the trapped passengers to escape. Dan directed them into the relative safety of the café while she shot down any aliens trying to hunt them down.  
  
Police had arrived now and were staring at the devastation.  
  
One man attempted to direct them into the café as well.  
  
Serena raised her eyebrows at Dan and he nodded.  
  
“We can help,” he told them. “You’re going to need all the help you can get.”  
  
The policeman nodded and gained the attention of his colleagues, organising them behind their cars as a squad of flyers sped towards them.  
  
Armed with the alien sceptre, Serena shot down one of the craft before they returned fire. She ducked down, just before a beam passed overhead. She leaned her back against the car, relieved at the close call.  
  
A blur of blue ahead of her hit the school bus, leaving a dent on the side, before rolling onto the ground. Captain America began running to them, jumping off cars and deflecting alien shots with his shield. He shouted directions to the police.  
  
“Why the hell should I take orders from you?” The sergeant demanded. Serena almost laughed as the Captain demonstrated convincingly why he should be obeyed, taking down two of the aliens with little effort.  
  
They helped the police redirect everyone into the nearest subway station, Dan helping to carry the kids while Serena provided covering fire. Almost everyone from the café was underground when the sky opened up again, revealing more gargantuans and hundreds of little craft. A swarm of the small crafts begin flying in and Serena urged people into the station. Suddenly, she noticed that Daniel was no longer on the other side of the entry.  
  
She spotted him down the road, sprinting back with a young child in his arms.  
  
“HURRY!” With a sinking heart, she can see no cover for them as the alien craft rode them down. She ran out, firing at the oncoming fleet, hoping to protect them. They were shredded before her eyes. Moments later, the fleet rode her down, still firing.

  



End file.
